Positive and negative affect have been shown to have implications for hormones like cortisol but how moment to moment changes in affect (i.e., affect variability) influence cortisol secretion is less ...well understood. Additionally, context characteristics such as mean affect and stress may influence the association between affect variability and cortisol output. In the current study, we examined affect, stress, and cortisol data from 113 participants (age range = 25–63, M = 35.63, SD = 11.34; 29% male; 42% White/Caucasian, 37% Asian or Pacific Islander, 13% Hispanic/Latino, 4% Black/African American, 1% Native American, Eskimo, or Aleut, 4% selected “other” for their race/ethnicity). Participants completed ecological momentary assessments assessing positive and negative affect and stress four times per day for five days and provided saliva samples at each time point. Saliva was assayed for cortisol, and area under the curve with respect to ground was computed. In a three-way interaction, both positive affect mean level and stress moderated the association between positive affect variability and cortisol (b = −1.55, t(100) = −3.29, SE = 0.47, p <.01, β = −4.05). When breaking down this three-way interaction, in the context of low stress and high mean positive affect, variability was positively related to total cortisol output. In contrast, in the context of high stress and high mean positive affect, variability was negatively related to total cortisol output. While greater positive affect variability is generally worse for health-relevant outcomes (as prior research has shown and as we show here at low levels of stress), at high levels of stress, fluctuation in affect may be adaptive. For someone experiencing a high stress week, having fluctuations in positive affect may mean that they are adaptively changing to meet their environmental needs especially when they typically report high mean positive affect levels. There were no associations between negative affect variability and cortisol secretion nor did mean negative affect or stress play a moderating role for negative affect variability. This study provides evidence that positive affect variability’s association with cortisol secretion throughout the day may vary based on stress and mean positive affect levels.
•For individuals with low stress and high mean positive affect, positive affect variability was positively related to cortisol secretion.•For individuals high stress and high mean positive affect, positive affect variability was negatively related to cortisol secretion.•There were no associations between negative affect variability and cortisol secretion.
We meta-analytically investigated the strength of synchrony on four dimensions of response: (1) prosocial behavior, (2) perceived social bonding, (2) social cognition, and (3) positive affect. A ...total of 42 independent studies (N=4327) were analyzed in which experimentally manipulated synchronous actions were compared to control conditions in healthy non-clinical samples. Our random effects model indicated that synchronous actions affected all four dimensions of response. Synchrony had a medium-sized positive effect on prosocial behaviors, a small-to-medium-sized positive effect on both perceived social bonding and social cognition, and a small-sized positive effect on positive affect. Notably, synchrony in larger groups increased prosocial behavior and positive affect, but group size did not moderate the relationship between synchrony and perceived social bonding and social cognition. This pattern suggests that distinct process mechanisms (neurocognitive versus affective) might underpin synchrony's effects on dimensions of response as a function of group size.
•Synchrony increases cooperation, social connection, partner perceptions and affect.•Distinct process mechanisms likely underpin synchrony's effects on these outcomes.•Group size moderates the relationship between synchrony and outcome variables.
Teacher enthusiasm is a key factor of effective teaching, favouring teachers’ well-being and instructional behaviour, and students’ cognitive, emotional, and motivational outcomes. Research has ...largely examined its positive effects, while neglecting the interplay of factors shaping teacher enthusiasm. This study aimed at examining the interrelations of motivational (teacher self-efficacy), affective (positive emotions), and well-being factors (job satisfaction) in shaping teachers’ experienced enthusiasm. A sample of 536 high school teachers participated in a follow-up study with a time lag of approximately six months. Results confirmed that positive affect was related to enthusiasm both directly and indirectly via self-efficacy and job satisfaction.
•Teacher enthusiasm (TE) is a key factor of effective teaching.•This study examined the interplay of three teachers’ personal factors favouring TE.•Positive affect (PA), self-efficacy, job satisfaction related over time and with TE.•PA related with TE directly and indirectly via self-efficacy and job satisfaction.
In recent years, advertisers have increasingly been using emoji in their promotional communications. However, little is known about how consumers might react to the use of emoji in advertisements. In ...this paper, we examine the effect of including emoji in advertisements on consumers' purchase intentions. Two empirical investigations (a laboratory experiment and an online study) provide convergent evidence that the presence of emoji leads consumers to experience higher positive affect, which in turn, leads to higher purchase intentions. We also examined the moderating influence of product type (utilitarian vs. hedonic) on the emoji ➔ positive affect ➔ purchase intentions link, finding that emoji are only effective for promoting hedonic products. The findings of our work offer theoretical and managerial implications with respect to why and when emoji are likely to make advertisements more effective.
•Including emoji in ads leads to higher purchase intentions and positive affect.•Higher positive affect mediates the effect of emoji on purchase intentions.•Product type moderates the emoji-positive affect-purchase intentions link.•Emoji are more effective at promoting hedonic products than utilitarian ones.
Psychosocial treatments targeting the positive valence system (PVS) in depression and anxiety demonstrate efficacy in enhancing positive affect (PA), but response to treatment varies. We examined ...whether individual differences in neural activation to positive and negative valence incentive cues underlies differences in benefitting from a PVS-targeted treatment. Individuals with clinically elevated depression and/or anxiety (N = 88, ages 18 to 55) participated in one of two randomized, waitlist-controlled trials of Amplification of Positivity (AMP; NCT02330627, NCT03196544), a cognitive and behavioral intervention targeting the PVS. Participants completed a monetary incentive delay (MID) task during fMRI acquisition at baseline measuring neural activation to the possibility of gaining or losing money. Change in PA from before to after treatment was assessed using the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule. No significant associations were observed between baseline neural activation during gain anticipation and AMP-related changes in PA in regions of interest (striatum and insula) or whole-brain analyses. However, higher baseline striatal and insula activation during loss anticipation was associated with greater increases in PA post-AMP. This study provides preliminary evidence suggesting neural reactivity to negative valence cues may inform who stands to benefit most from treatments targeting the PVS.
•Depression and anxiety disorders evince positive valence system (PVS) dysfunction.•Amplification of Positivity (AMP) is an emerging intervention targeting the PVS.•We examined neural predictors of change in positive affect after AMP.•Neural activation during gain anticipation did not predict outcomes.•Higher activation during loss anticipation predicted greater AMP treatment gains.
This study draws upon affective events theory, research regarding funders' perceptions, and research regarding expectation alignment between products and their presenters to develop and test an ...indirect effects model of crowdfunding resource allocation decisions. To test our hypothesized relationships, we drew upon a sample of 102 participants who each assessed ten different product pitches made by ten different entrepreneurs. Results from the study indicate that perceived product creativity is positively related to crowdfunding performance, both directly and indirectly, via positive affective reactions of prospective funders. Moreover, we find the indirect effect of product creativity is contingent upon the extent to which funders perceive an entrepreneur to be passionate, such that perceived entrepreneurial passion increases the positive nature of the indirect effect. Implications for future theory development, empirical research and implications for practitioners are discussed as well.
•Funders’ perceptions of product creativity and entrepreneurial passion are examined.•Resource allocation decisions are positively influenced by perceived product creativity.•The influence of perceived product creativity is partially mediated by funders’ positive affective reactions.•Perceived product creativity’s indirect influence is heightened when funders perceive the lead entrepreneur as passionate.
Goal-directed behavior in a constantly changing environment requires a dynamic balance between two antagonistic modes of control: On the one hand, goals need to be maintained and shielded from ...distraction (stability), and on the other hand, goals need to be relaxed and flexibly updated whenever significant changes occur (flexibility). A dysregulation of this stability-flexibility balance can result in overly rigid or overly distractible behavior, and it is therefore important to understand how this balance is regulated in a context-sensitive, adaptive manner. In the present article, we review recent evidence on how positive affect, reward prospect, and task context modulate the stability-flexibility balance. Two distinct underlying cognitive mechanisms will be discussed: Flexibility may result either from lowering the updating threshold in working memory or from keeping multiple tasks active in working memory. Critically, these two mechanisms allow different (testable) predictions: Whereas lowering the updating threshold should ease the access of new information in working memory and thereby increase flexibility in general, concurrent task activation should only increase flexibility between the respective tasks.
Introduction Rumination is a transdiagnostic risk factor to psychopathology that has mostly been studied in relation to depression (Nolen-Hoeksema, 1991). However, rumination may also occur in ...response to positive events and emotions (Feldman et al., 2008), and may be a protective factor as it is associated with higher positive affect (Harding et al., 2017). Objectives We aimed to examine ruminative response to positive affect (RPA) in daily life and explore its relationship with daily positive and negative affect. We hypothesized that daily positive and negative affect would be associated with daily RPA even after controlling for trait-level RPA and depressive rumination. Methods We carried out a daily diary study with university students (n=178). After filling out the baseline survey assessing trait-level rumination, participants had to answer short surveys online about their daily affect and daily rumination every evening for 10 consecutive days. We analyzed our data with multilevel regression in R. Results In line with our expectations, daily RPA was significantly associated with daily positive (β=0.16) and negative affect (β=-0.07), while trait-level rumination scores were not significantly associated with daily positive and negative affect. The within-person relationship was stronger between RPA and positive affect (β=0.17) than the between-person relationship (β=0.09). Daily and trait-level rumination were weakly correlated (r=0.218-0.284). Conclusions Under ecologically valid conditions, we found that daily rumination was more important in daily affective experiences than trait-level rumination. Understanding whether one’s current affect is more strongly associated with trait-level, state-level or even contextual factors may yield better intervention strategies for affective disorders. Disclosure No significant relationships.
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